First car that I drove regularly was my Dad’s ‘67 VW Beetle - 4speed, air-cooled, 1300cc.
First I bought with my own money was a ‘73 Triumph Spitfire. Lots of fun to drive, but the Lucas electronics drove me nuts. Always was something going on with them. Plus anything with a gasket or seal was prone to leaks: clutch master cylinder, clutch slave cylinder, brake master cylinder, valve-cover gasket & rear main-seal - all replaced in my 2 years of ownership.
The Brits thoughtfully had the bonnet tip up and forward on hinges, exposing the full engine bay for easy access. Plus, the front tires were pretty comfortable to sit on while adjusting the carb, which was about once a month.
I fitted a ski-rack to the trunk lid in the winter, and did mostly top-down cruising in the summer.
Can’t say I’d want another, but would love to try out a Miata or Honda S2000 so I could get the same driving experience, but with a lot more reliability!
('65 MGB busted my auto cherry, but good ;-)